A common problem in all security systems is to ensure that a real alarm condition and not a false alarm condition exists. A false alarm condition can result from many aspects of security system environmental conditions and should be identified by the system. A false alarm condition can occur by an authorized person accidentally triggering a sensor that indicates something is amiss, or, for instance, a battery power falling below a desired level resulting in a false alarm being triggered.
Security systems that utilize an optical fiber which is extended through objects desired to be protected must ensure that the optical fiber is not too long. If it is too long, the optical signal passing therethrough becomes too attenuated to properly alert the system if the optical fiber is intact. Alternatively, when remote locations monitor given secured locations, the remote location desires to have information about the secured location. For instance, the remote location monitoring a specific secured site may want to be kept abreast of the power level available to the secured site, or if any unusual contact is occurring at the secured site (but which no alarm has yet triggered). Heretofore, such features have not been integrated into security system to assist a user or monitor in better understanding the status and condition of the system.